WordPress is the most popular CMS available in the current market, with more than 60% of websites on the internet using it. One important reason for its popularity is that it is compatible with hundreds of themes and plugins which are easily available in its repository. The availability of so many themes gives flexibility and diversity to site owners to design their websites in the best possible way. One might be tempted to choose a WordPress theme that looks attractive and pretty however the decision is not that simple as we have to consider a number of other factors too, before deciding on one theme.
How to Choose a WordPress Theme for your website?
Here is a list of factors that you need to consider before selecting a specific WordPress theme.
Price Details – Free or premium
There are many free WordPress themes also available in the WordPress repository. Although it is a general conception that free themes are not reliable and lack proper coding and customization options. It might be true in some cases however not always. There are many good free themes also, you just need to do a proper research and read online reviews on WordPress related forums and blogs and save some money there.
But it will limit your options. So if you are working on a large scale website, it is best to go for a well known paid theme.
Responsive Design
Nowadays, most of the themes have a built in responsive design. Responsive design means a dynamic structure that will fit to different screen sizes, like mobiles, tablets, laptops and PCs of different screens sizes. In a responsive theme, no matter what the screen size, the website display will remain best possible for that particle size and change according to the dimensions.
Google mainly uses the mobile-first version for indexing, meaning, instead of indexing the desktop site, Google will use your site’s mobile-first version to understand data. And if your theme is not responsive, your chances of appearing in the SERPs will dramatically reduce because a responsive theme is a defining factor in indexing on mobile search.
Customization Options
You can also customize a WordPress theme according to your needs. There are a number of ways in which you can do this. You can do this by adding custom CSS, or using a number of plugins available. It is important that you choose a customizable theme because your needs and requirements are going to change with time so instead of going for a new theme, it is way more easier to tweak your current theme a little bit and fulfil your need. That is why it is important especially for long term, that the theme you are choosing is customizable.
Compatible with Plugins
It might seem obvious, but picking a theme that is plugin-compatible is always a good idea. A WordPress website can add features and functionalities thanks in large part to plugins.
Even while the majority of WordPress themes today are compatible with plugins, some could have limitations.
For instance, if you want a theme with a drag-and-drop capability, choose one without a built-in builder because those will limit you to the pre-set options. Instead, you should choose a theme that works well with plugins for page builders like Elementor and Divi.
Support Options Available
It’s possible that there will be moments when you need to rely on customer support even if you have strong WordPress skills. Imagine your disappointment if you discovered at the last minute that your theme provides no support.
Most premium themes provide free customer support for six to twelve months. You can pay to renew this support and get all the significant upgrades that the developers offer. Prior to purchasing the theme, you must review its support guidelines.
You could or might not have the support option with free themes. Some themes offer technical support through the WordPress.org forums, which is really useful but only a community.
Reliable User Reviews & Ratings
Positive feedback and high ratings are reliable signs of a quality WordPress theme. They assist you in understanding the advantages and drawbacks from the viewpoint of the user.
Thankfully, WordPress makes finding reviews really simple. To aid in your decision-making, it offers a reviews section in the WordPress theme repository. Naturally, you should choose highly rated themes over ones with low ratings. You know that the reviews are from genuine users as they are officially on the WordPress site. Also there are WordPress related forums and chat groups also which can give you advice for free.
SEO Friendly
Many individuals don’t really think about this, yet it’s crucial to your marketing efforts. Your website’s overall online presence is significantly influenced by your WordPress theme. In order to rank your website higher in the SERPs, search crawlers need to be able to read the theme code well. You should also choose WordPress hosting for your site as it is optimized for WordPress based sites.
Now, while many themes do inform you of this in the devs area, it may be challenging for you to determine whether the code is SEO-friendly or not. Choosing themes that load quickly and are lightweight is a straightforward process. A theme is in the correct place if it meets both criteria.
Additionally, you can utilise a WordPress SEO plugin to further improve your website’s search engine optimisation.
Is it Updated Regularly
You should select a theme that is frequently updated. New features and security updates are routinely added to the WordPress core programme. You could run into a lot of problems if your theme is not compatible with these updates.
Therefore, it’s critical to maintain your theme updated and current in order to prevent problems, ensure website security, and enhance performance. Choosing a theme that gets updates every three months is the best course of action. This period of time is a good indicator that you aren’t utilising anything that is out-of-date.
These are some of the factors you must consider when choosing a theme for your website. Once you make an informed decision it is a high probability that you will not regret it later and it will benefit your online venture greatly.